Page 1 of Her Baby Daddy Mix-up

Chapter 1

Brianna skirted around the people trailing out the door of the coffee shop feeling her stomach revolt at the simple idea of the repugnant liquid. She was exhausted and nauseous. All she wanted was to get into her apartment and relax. Tomorrow was going to be a longer, much longer day than today; after all, they were flying across the country to a conference for the next week.

She hated traveling on the weekend, but Carter wanted to be there and get acclimated to the layout of the conference center before everyone else began to arrive on Monday. She wanted nothing more than to stay home, especially with the way she was feeling currently. No one at work knew she was pregnant…hell, no one other than her and her doctor knew about it, and not even her doctor knew the how, and they wouldn’t until she could figure out a reasonable lie to tell her parents. They’d be horrified to know the truth, but she didn’t care as much about that as she did about the little life growing inside her.

Brianna stopped to get her mail, finding a letter from the clinic in the stack and slid her nail beneath the flap, taking out the sheet in wonder as to what they wanted. She’d returned their Dewar in perfect condition, and she didn’t know why they’d be writing to her, unless it was simply to confirm her report that she was pregnant.

The first few sentences had her heart in her throat and the next sent her upstairs, straight to the toilet. This was not happening…she’d purposely chosen someone who wanted to remain anonymous because she didn’t want to deal with a man in her business.

She’d given in and made her fondest wish come true only to discover the world had played a trick on her. Mistakes like this weren’t possible, were they? How could a mix-up like this happen? How did her anonymous donor suddenly become a live person? One that wasn’t even supposed to be a donor, anonymous or open ended.

She headed to the bedroom, lying in the semi-darkness, and shut her eyes wanting to forget ever reading that letter. She couldn’t dwell on it now anyway. She wasn’t going to be in town to deal with it for the next week so until she got back she was going to ignore it and everything else that might come from it.

She woke to darkness, nausea, and a need to use the bathroom. She was trying to make herself look half-human when she heard the knock on her door and groaned. Of course, Carter would be early the one time she wasn’t ready to go. She ran her fingers through her hair as she double-checked her outfit, then moved to let him into the living room to stop him from waking anyone else with his incessant knocking.

“Morning Brianna,” he said more pleasantly than she expected from the length of time she’d made him wait. “Coffee, two sugar, one creamer,” he offered holding out the cup to her and she felt her stomach roll.

She shook her head no as she fought against the nausea, but as he closed the space between them, extending the cup further, the aroma overwhelmed her and there was no stopping the bile coming up this time. She made a dash to the half-bath off the kitchen, barely making it in time.

Well hell, Carter thought seeing the pamphlet on her coffee table and moved to the kitchen, dumping out the offending beverage. He felt like a heel now. How had he not known his assistant was pregnant? Had he really been in his own funk since getting the notice from the clinic that someone had messed up and given out his private vials to a woman as an anonymous donor? Probably. He’d been livid, especially with the clinic refusing to tell him who the woman was due to privacy issues. Some woman out there was pregnant with his child…the potential only child he’d ever have, and they wouldn’t allow him to know who or even where she was.

He’d give them this week then bring his attorney into the mess, force them to inform him who was carrying his child. For now, it looked like he needed to refocus on the trip at hand, especially with Brianna’s little surprise.

He moved down the hallway and wetted a washcloth, handing it to her as she began to get up from her spot. He noticed a slight hollowness to her normally rosy cheeks and debated about bringing someone else with him for the trip. The only problem with that was no one else complimented him the way Brianna did. She knew his cues well, anticipated his needs long before he ever spoke them, but he didn’t want to put any strain on her.

“How far along are you?” he asked after she rinsed her mouth then her face using the washcloth.

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said looking over his shoulder, a sure sign that she wasn’t being truthful with him.

“Brianna, I’ve known you for five years. You’re never sick and there’s a ‘What to Expect’ pamphlet on your coffee table. Don’t insult my intelligence or yours by trying to hide it now.”

She sighed rubbing her temples and answered him honestly, “Eight weeks…”

“Do you want to cancel going with me? I can call and have Ella come out tomorrow if you’d rather stay home,” he offered but she shook her head no knowing that would only increase her worry about the letter and whose child she was carrying.

“I’ll be fine…”

“Are you sure? You look a little pale,” he said watching his words carefully.

“It usually passes after a couple hours being up,” she stated, and he didn’t argue telling her he’d rather not have Ella there and deal with the woman’s obvious crush on him. “For now…can you not say anything to anyone? I haven’t told my family yet.”

“I won’t tell a soul,” Carter reassured her as he grabbed the bags waiting inside the front door.

She took her jacket from the hook and slipped into it knowing it was chilly outside, despite the seventy-six it was supposed to reach that day. She checked her bag for her keys, finding the letter from the clinic stuffed into the bottom of it and decided to leave it there. It was better than letting Carter see it and have more questions.

He didn’t speak much until they were in the suite at the hotel and looking at the presentation he was giving about their newest software offerings. He had scheduled a two-hour block that evening for the main room where the presentation would run, and she ensured everything was set up the way he liked before they went to have dinner.

Typically, if they were out on business, he’d buy a bottle of wine to share, and it was easier that he knew ahead of time rather than pester her with questions as to why she wasn’t drinking. She chose something light that wouldn’t sit heavily on her stomach, avoiding anything with grease as it made her nausea worse, and carefully sipped on her water.

“I’ll admit I’m surprised Brianna,” Carter stated when their food arrived. He watched her slowly take a bite as though testing her stomach and wondered if her nausea wasn’t worse than she was letting onto. “I fully expected you to be married before finding out you were expecting.”

“Doesn’t always work out that way though does it?” she said giving him a light smile.

“I suppose not,” he agreed. “Is the father in the picture or know?”

“Carter…” she paused letting out a sigh as she rubbed her temple. “For right now, can we just forget that I’m pregnant as best as possible?”

“Sure,” he stated seeing the front she had slipped slightly.

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